At Menlo Park Housing Workshop, Some Would Rather Fight Than Build

More than 100 residents poured into a housing workshop in Menlo Park Tuesday night to voice concern about the plan for affordable housing that is required of all California cities.

Most speakers were apprehensive about the impact of new housing on schools, traffic and property values.

But others were more interested in fighting the state housing mandate than discussing which sites were best.

“I think it violates the sovereignty of this city. It’s against what America stands for,” said Cherie Zaslawsky, who has lived in Menlo Park for 30 years. “It’s an infringement of our liberty and our self-determination. Before the state mandated anything, the quality of life was better.”

Part of the crowd burst into applause when one speaker proposed challenging the state mandate in court.

The city has already been sued for its past failures to zone for more housing. 18 other Bay Area jurisdictions do not currently meet state housing requirements.